In Praise of the Financial/Economic Punkosphere

I figure I would try a different kind of post today, one which revolves around news and a topic I am starting to really appreciate.  For anyone that reads my work, I am obviously out of the mainstream when it comes to political thought.  I also strive to throw in as punch and snarky lines as possible whenever I write.  Admittedly, some of my better lines are not all that original.  I read a great deal of material everyday and try to incorporate what I see as funny/hilarious one liners into whatever I am bitching about on any given day.  Case in point:  Zerohedge had a pretty good post today (good enough to make it on RealClearMarkets anyway) on a UBS report speculating a civil war with the break up of the Euro Zone.  Here are some excerpts:

Any time a major bank releases a report saying a given course of action is too costly, too prohibitive, too blonde, or simply too impossible, it is nearly guaranteed that that is precisely the course of action about to be undertaken. Which is why all non-euro skeptics are advised to shield their eyes and look away from the just released report by UBS (of surging 3 Month USD Libor rate fame) titled "Euro Break Up - The Consequences."

Highlighted from the report:

"the Euro does not work. Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change."

"the consequences would include corporate default, recapitalisation of the banking system and collapse of international trade."

"It is also worth observing that almost no modern fiat currency monetary unions have broken up without some form of authoritarian or military government, or civil war."

In brilliant prose, whoever posts under the pseudonym of Tyler Durden sums up the report very well:

So you see: save the euro for the children, so we can avoid all out war (and UBS can continue to exist).

Yet this isn't the best part of the post.  When it comes to Zerohedge, one of the best aspects of the site is the comments section which is uncensored.  People posting under such names as "Sudden Debt" or "Dabernank," complete with avatar pictures ranging from naked women to cartoon animation, shoot off enough snarky comments that one could spend the rest of the day reading each one.  Many times the posts end with some form of the word "bitchez."  Don't ask me why.  As for the mentioned article, this post from user "TruthInSunshine" (complete with an End the Fed avatar) had me rolling:

Who will play the roles of the European versions of Hank 'Tank in the Streets' Paulson, Ben 'No Banker Haircuts' Bernanke & Timmmay 'I Want To Be A Player - Can I? Huh? Please' Geithner?

This ladies and gentlemen, is what encapsulates what I call the financial/economic punkosphere.  Economic blogs have become somewhat of a popular trend as highlighted in last December's New York Times piece the "10th Annual Year in Ideas":

D.I.Y. Macroeconomics

Until recently, the economics profession largely controlled the production, dissemination and interpretation of economic data. Now there’s a new trend afoot: do-it-yourself macroeconomics, in which ordinary citizens pull apart the data and come to their own conclusions.

At the same time, a growing army of knowledgeable “econo-bloggers” began analyzing the data available online. Strikingly, many of the authors of these blogs — the brains behind the Big Picture, Calculated Risk, Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis and others — aren’t academic economists but people with real-world experience in financial markets. Their Web sites offer sophisticated interpretations of economic data and hold passionate debates with their readers over the merits of the data.

This is encompasses the essence of the financial punkosphere.  A bunch of individuals spontaneously popping up who aren't beholden to academic tenure and tell it like it is without worrying about the consequences.  Many times, the criticisms they throw out are what make them incredibly popular.  Take Mike "Mish" Shedlock whom I cite quite frequently on here.  Not only does Mish dish out plenty of insults at the incompetent and lying central bank establishment, he consistently does it in an informative and entertaining manner.  Take a recent post on Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.  In response to a pathetic warning to European banks from Head and soon-to-be-head of European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet and Mario Draghi, Mish issues his own warning to the central bankers:

Hello Mr. Trichet.

The odds 17 sovereign states "get their act together" quickly regarding a fiscal union is zero.

There is no agreement on Eurobonds even from Germany and France, so how are 17 countries supposed to quickly agree on that?

Finland and Austria want collateral, and pray tell why shouldn't they? Is every country supposed to do exactly what you want?

Greece is going to default and you and your big ego made matters worse by refusing to accept that fact, so much so that you and the ECB failed to plan for it.

You want 17 countries to get their act together. How about one central bank, the ECB, led by you, get its act together and admit your policies have failed? How about the ECB coming up with a legitimate plan for dealing with it this crisis instead of illegally making demands on sovereign nations?

The market gave you fair warning on Greece and you refused to see it. Now the market has said "time's up".

Face the facts Mr. Trichet "The Euro has failed."

Now of course Mish is right, but I doubt Trichet will read the warning or even take it seriously.  It's way too logical for him to take the time.  But that's beside the point, Mish's blog provides an outlet to criticize the establishment as well as inform people on global economic trends all while maintaining a humorous composure.  When it comes to the topsy-turvy world of fiat currency, it takes a great deal of humor to reconcile what will inevitably be a collapse of an unstable banking system.  Most financial blogs run by people smart enough to know that prosperity doesn't come from the printing press realize this and criticize what passes for conventional wisdom accordingly.

So this is in praise of the financial/economic punkosphere that challenges the establishment on a consistent basis.  Recently Zerohedge had a kind of "war of words" with economist Nouriel Roubini who is, as John Tamny puts it, "still clinging to his 15 minutes after an economy call that he got right for all the wrong reasons."  Roubini still clings to the Keynesian mindset which has ravished our economy and has made the act of saving a virtual sin with super low interest rates and a bunch of ivory chair economists expelling the sacred benefits of consumption.  There is something to be said about an economic theory that punishes the savers who are the most unfit for labor, but I will leave that to the punks in the blogosphere who know best.

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So I think I am gonna try and use this post and write and article, hopefully for LewRockwell.com.  We will see, but I really need to make it clear that punk is a term of endearment.  While the news today wasn't overly exciting, Greece is inching closer and closer to default with their 1 year hitting 88%:

And predictably, the competent leaders in charge are mum.